Australia’s Strategic Marine has expanded the capacity of its Singapore facility and officially opened its new yard in Mexico.
The company has doubled the size and capacity of its shipyard at Tuas in Singapore by leasing a 3,000-square metre open area adjacent to its existing facility and erecting a 1,200-square metre covered area which is expected be operational by August this year. The increased capacity will allow Strategic Marine to make an early start on the six 40-metre crew boats it has announced it will build ‘on spec’. Two of these vessels have already been ordered by Australian marine service company Samson Maritime in a contract worth US$9.8 million. The aluminium utility vessels, which have seating for 50 rig crew and ten crew members, are scheduled for delivery in May and July next year. Work is already under way to lay a 75-metre by 22-metre concrete slab on the new site, which will then have a marquee-type shed erected as a temporary measure, with a permanent shed on the newly leased site to be constructed next year. The expanded yard is expected to employ an additional 80 welders, fabricators and shipyard workers on top of its existing 120-strong workforce. Meanwhile, Strategic Marine’s shipyard at Matazlan in Mexico has officially been opened with a keel-laying ceremony for the first vessel to be built at the facility.
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Thursday, July 24, 2008
Volvo Ocean Race India stopover
The final plan for the Race village for the Volvo Ocean Race India Stopover has been finalized by Volvo Event Management UK and the Cochin port Trust.
A team comprising Mr Jack Lloyd, Race Director, Mr Jeremy Troughton, Director Planning and Operations, MsAllison Crook, Events Manager and Ms Rosie Julian, Operations Manager currently on visit to Cochin Port , held discussions with the Stopover Team and reviewed the ongoing development activities in this connection. The locations for the finish of the second leg of the Race arriving from Cape Town and the Start line for the third leg from Cochin to Singapore have also been finalized. Discussions were held regarding various sponsorship and marketing avenues related to the stopover event, which is happening for the first time in India. The most important activity is the construction of the Race Village and the Team Area in the Port premises, which among others, will have a state of the art media centre, to cater to the needs of hundreds of global and national media persons, from the print, broadcast and new media sectors. The event would be beamed across 200 countries and also feature a live feed on the internet. This will house the major offices of the Volvo Ocean race Stopover, like the International Jury Office, Race Management Office, Events and Operations Office, Logistics Office etc., besides the media and accreditation offices. A major item of work in progress is the lengthening of the berth for boats/yachts in the Race Village area. Four major international luxury cruise vessels are landing at Cochin port during the Stopover period. The cruise vessels are: Legend of the Seas (Dec 3) Celebrity Quest, Seabourne Spirit and Nautica (Dec 10).
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A team comprising Mr Jack Lloyd, Race Director, Mr Jeremy Troughton, Director Planning and Operations, MsAllison Crook, Events Manager and Ms Rosie Julian, Operations Manager currently on visit to Cochin Port , held discussions with the Stopover Team and reviewed the ongoing development activities in this connection. The locations for the finish of the second leg of the Race arriving from Cape Town and the Start line for the third leg from Cochin to Singapore have also been finalized. Discussions were held regarding various sponsorship and marketing avenues related to the stopover event, which is happening for the first time in India. The most important activity is the construction of the Race Village and the Team Area in the Port premises, which among others, will have a state of the art media centre, to cater to the needs of hundreds of global and national media persons, from the print, broadcast and new media sectors. The event would be beamed across 200 countries and also feature a live feed on the internet. This will house the major offices of the Volvo Ocean race Stopover, like the International Jury Office, Race Management Office, Events and Operations Office, Logistics Office etc., besides the media and accreditation offices. A major item of work in progress is the lengthening of the berth for boats/yachts in the Race Village area. Four major international luxury cruise vessels are landing at Cochin port during the Stopover period. The cruise vessels are: Legend of the Seas (Dec 3) Celebrity Quest, Seabourne Spirit and Nautica (Dec 10).
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Chennai port in dispute with DP World
Dubai Ports World is embroiled in a legal dispute with Chennai port authorities regarding the Dubai-based company's contract to operate a container terminal at the port.
The Chennai port informed DP World of their desire to terminate the contract signed in 2001, leading DP to approach the high court to obtain a stay on the port's plan to end their contract. DP World also resorted to proceedings under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act in order to resolve the issue. Chennai's desire to terminate the contract lies in DP World's failure to honor one of the clauses regarding transhipment for the past three years. According to non-negotiable terms in the contract, DP World agreed that within three years of commencing operations, mainline vessels would call at the port to haul cargo directly without being transshipped to other ports in the region. Furthermore, the contract stipulated that 20 percent of all cargo handled by DP World had to be shipped on mainline vessels direct to destinations within the first three years, 25 percent in the fourth year, 30 percent in the fifth year, and so on until expiration of the contract. The move was intended to save time and costs, increasing India's competitiveness in the global market. Chennai's aim is to become a hub port for container cargo on the eastern coast of India. DP World insists they fulfilled their contractual obligations and the port authorities have incorrectly interpreted the contract.
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The Chennai port informed DP World of their desire to terminate the contract signed in 2001, leading DP to approach the high court to obtain a stay on the port's plan to end their contract. DP World also resorted to proceedings under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act in order to resolve the issue. Chennai's desire to terminate the contract lies in DP World's failure to honor one of the clauses regarding transhipment for the past three years. According to non-negotiable terms in the contract, DP World agreed that within three years of commencing operations, mainline vessels would call at the port to haul cargo directly without being transshipped to other ports in the region. Furthermore, the contract stipulated that 20 percent of all cargo handled by DP World had to be shipped on mainline vessels direct to destinations within the first three years, 25 percent in the fourth year, 30 percent in the fifth year, and so on until expiration of the contract. The move was intended to save time and costs, increasing India's competitiveness in the global market. Chennai's aim is to become a hub port for container cargo on the eastern coast of India. DP World insists they fulfilled their contractual obligations and the port authorities have incorrectly interpreted the contract.
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Gazprom and Iran sign package agreement
Russian Gazprom has signed an agreement with the National Iranian Oil Company to cooperate in the production and transportation of oil and gas production.
Tehran has offered Gazprom a full package of projects to develop oil and natural gas fields, and to build processing facilities to transport oil from the Caspian Sea to the Gulf of Oman. However, analysts have said that the agreement will only exist on paper unless the political situation changes. Iran is under three sets of UN Security Council sanctions for its refusal to stop uranium enrichment while the US and Israel have refused to rule out military strikes in Iran continues its nuclear program.
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Tehran has offered Gazprom a full package of projects to develop oil and natural gas fields, and to build processing facilities to transport oil from the Caspian Sea to the Gulf of Oman. However, analysts have said that the agreement will only exist on paper unless the political situation changes. Iran is under three sets of UN Security Council sanctions for its refusal to stop uranium enrichment while the US and Israel have refused to rule out military strikes in Iran continues its nuclear program.
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Collision between tug, tanker closes Mississippi River at New Orleans
The Coast Guard closed 29 miles (47 kilometers) of the Mississippi River at New Orleans after a 600-foot tanker and a barge loaded with fuel oil collided.
The collision broke the barge in half. Nobody was injured, but more than 419,000 gallons (1.5 million liters) of heavy fuel oil spilled from the barge, said Lt. Cdr. Cheri Ben-Iesau, a Coast Guard spokeswoman. The double-hulled tanker Tintomara was loaded with about 4.2 million gallons (15.9 million liters) of biodiesel bound for Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and nearly 1.3 million gallons (4.9 million liters) of styrene bound for Hamburg, Germany, but was not leaking, said Michael Wilson, president of ship management company Laurin Maritime (America) Inc. in Houston. The company is a subsidiary of Goteborg, Sweden-based Laurin Maritime AB. The Liberian-flagged tanker is owned by Whitefin Shipping Co. Ltd. of Gibraltar. The tanker had only minor damage, the management company said. The collision occurred about 1:30 a.m. CDT (0630 GMT) just upriver from the Crescent City Connection, a pair of bridges between New Orleans' east and west banks. Tug boats were holding the halves of the barge in place. Ben-Iesau said the state Department of Environmental Quality made sure that all water intakes and sensitive environmental areas downriver from the spill were boomed off to keep the fuel oil out.
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The collision broke the barge in half. Nobody was injured, but more than 419,000 gallons (1.5 million liters) of heavy fuel oil spilled from the barge, said Lt. Cdr. Cheri Ben-Iesau, a Coast Guard spokeswoman. The double-hulled tanker Tintomara was loaded with about 4.2 million gallons (15.9 million liters) of biodiesel bound for Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and nearly 1.3 million gallons (4.9 million liters) of styrene bound for Hamburg, Germany, but was not leaking, said Michael Wilson, president of ship management company Laurin Maritime (America) Inc. in Houston. The company is a subsidiary of Goteborg, Sweden-based Laurin Maritime AB. The Liberian-flagged tanker is owned by Whitefin Shipping Co. Ltd. of Gibraltar. The tanker had only minor damage, the management company said. The collision occurred about 1:30 a.m. CDT (0630 GMT) just upriver from the Crescent City Connection, a pair of bridges between New Orleans' east and west banks. Tug boats were holding the halves of the barge in place. Ben-Iesau said the state Department of Environmental Quality made sure that all water intakes and sensitive environmental areas downriver from the spill were boomed off to keep the fuel oil out.
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Nacchatar Singh Johal ventures into difficult territory
Indian sailors are still at sea in the Olympic yachting arena.
Success at the Asian level, in the form of medals at numerous Asian Games, popped up Olympic hopefuls who found it tough to keep in step with world-class competition. Nachhatar Singh Johal ventures into difficult territory as the lone Indian sailor at Beijing, competing in the Finn category (heavyweight dingy), featuring double Olympic yachting champion Ben Ainslie of Great Britain. The sport is so competitive at the Olympic level that qualifying is the first hurdle for Indians. Johal is the highest ranked Asian (No. 53) on the International Sailing Federation July 2008 list (ahead of China’s Zheng Peng who is 57) and got the nod on the basis of Unused Quota Positions (UQP) allotted by the ISAF.
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Success at the Asian level, in the form of medals at numerous Asian Games, popped up Olympic hopefuls who found it tough to keep in step with world-class competition. Nachhatar Singh Johal ventures into difficult territory as the lone Indian sailor at Beijing, competing in the Finn category (heavyweight dingy), featuring double Olympic yachting champion Ben Ainslie of Great Britain. The sport is so competitive at the Olympic level that qualifying is the first hurdle for Indians. Johal is the highest ranked Asian (No. 53) on the International Sailing Federation July 2008 list (ahead of China’s Zheng Peng who is 57) and got the nod on the basis of Unused Quota Positions (UQP) allotted by the ISAF.
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